1920 Ardeshir Irani’s Nala Damayanti — first international co-production (with Italy) Suchet Singh’s Shakuntala — first Indian film to cast a foreigner (Dorothy Kingdom)Suchet Singh’s The Cremation of Lokmanya Tilak — the first optical newsreel

1925 Baburao Painter’s Savkari Pash — the first attempt to provide realistic treatment to the story of a peasant exploited by moneylendersFatma Begum — first woman director-producer

1931 Mohan Dayaram Bhavnani’s Lafanga Langoor — first animation filmArdeshir Irani’s Alam Ara — first Indian talkie film. This was a breakthrough in Indian cinema because earlier, the British had tried marketing their films here, and this was the first successful Indian attempt on talkies or a motion picture with synchronised sound

1932 This phase also saw the beginning of the now established ‘Bollywood musical’. Madan Theatre’s Indrasabha, with over 70 songs, holds the world record for the most number of songs in any musical

1933 J L Freer-Hunt’s Karma — first film to be made entirely in English

1934 Bombay Talkies was set up. The first public limited film company — it introduced a Western-par level of technical standard in terms of soundstages, editing rooms, and preview theatres Jayant Desai’s Toofan Mail — first major success in the stunt film genreDevika Rani, Bombay Talkies’ most successful actor, was the first Bollywood ‘Diva’. A cultural icon, and member of National Academy of Dance, she was the first actor to win the Dadasaheb Phalke award

1935 Nitin Bose’s Dhoop Chaon —introduced playback singing. P C Barua’s Devdas — was not melodramatic with theatricality of dialogue and acting, but brought the Bengali sensibility of understated tragedy. Though it was Bengali film, it was highly successful throughout the country, proving that there was a market for an alternative type of cinema

1937 Kisan Kanya by Ardeshir Irani — first colour film. He continued to create milestones by introducing the first colour film, and filmmakers in South India rapidly followed suit.

1943 Gyan Mukherjee’s Kismet — first thriller to be released in India. This film also saw the patriotic fervour among Indians, and the lyricist of the song, Door Hato O Duniya Walo had to go underground, and the Brit tried their best to ban the film

1946 Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar — first Indian film to win Grand Prix at Cannes. This started the ‘new wave’ in Indian cinemaThe setting up of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (ITPA), an art movement which pioneered ‘realism’ in Indian cinema, that mainly focussed on Bengali films, but also produced Hindi films such as Mehboob Khan’s Mother India and Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa Mother India — first Indian film to be nominated at the Academy Awards (1957). Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa credited with intensifying the ‘Indian realistic’ cinemaBimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen, first Indian film to win an international award (at the Cannes Film Festival)

1954 Sohrab Modi’s Mirza Ghalib — first hindi film to win a National Award for Best FilmDilip Kumar (The Tragedy King) rose to fame with films such as Deedar (1951) and Devdas (1955). Kumar holds the Guinness World Record for having won the maximum number of awards by an Indian actorThe Era of the Showman: The 1950s also saw the rise of legendary actor, Raj Kapoor, the Showman. Shree 420 was his first film that got critical praise. His delivered several hits thereafter, over the next two decadesEmergence of Satyajit Ray — films like the Apu Trilogy (1956) came into prominence. He was such a great visionary that filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s E.T is suggested to have been inspired from his script Alien (which was never made). In his 1955 film Pather Panchali, Ray developed his unique style of lyrical realism in filmsRise of the bevy of Bollywood Beauties — still known for their classical good looks as well as their meaningful contribution to Indian Cinema. Madhubala, Nargis, Meena KumariDeccan Dreams — South Indian actors make it big in Bollywood. Trend started with Vyjanthimala, went on to include Waheeda Rahman, Hema Malini, Rekha, and SrideviV Shantaram delivered entertainers including Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), and Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957). He was so talented that even Charlie Chaplin praised him for his Marathi film Manoos

1960 K Asif’s Mughal-E-Azam — first large-scale movie in terms of cinematography and art direction. This also kick-started the trend of romantic movies Emergence of the Superstar — Rajesh Khanna with films such as Raaz (1967), Ittefaq (1969) and Aradhana (1969). He was the first superstar of Indian cinema, hugely popular with girls. He would get mobbed wherever he’d go. “He needed police protection when he was in public. I had never seen anything like this before,” actor Sharmila Tagore, and Khanna’s co-star in many of his films was once quoted as saying Sadhana Shivdasani, the actor, who turned a fashion icon introducing the fringe cut that’s still called the ‘Sadhana Cut’

1965 Vijay Anand’s The Guide — considered a masterpiece of Indian Cinema

1967 First appearance of a woman in bikini — Sharmila Tagore in Shakti Samanta’s film, An Evening in Paris

1969 Asit Sen’s Khamoshi — black and white experimental cinematography by Kamal BoseMrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome — Amitabh Bachchan’s debut in films, but as a voice narrator. This film also launched the ‘New Cinema’ movement of IndiaMani Kaul’s Uski Roti – a key film of the new wave genreThe Yahoo Days — Shammi Kapoor ushers in a fresh dose of energy and youthfulness in Indian filmsIndia’s Gregory Peck — Dev Anand spreads his charm on the Indian screen

1972 Conrad Rooks’ Siddhartha starring Shashi Kapoor and Simi Garewal — first film to be banned from distribution because of Garewal’s nude scene Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah tells the story of a tawaif played by actor Meena Kumari

1973 Raj Kapoor’s Bobby first introduced the themes of teenage romance and rich-vs-poor, in Bollywood Angry Young Man — Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer, which gave Amitabh Bachchan the ‘Angry Young Man’ image that became the hallmark of his career and of popular Bollywood films ever since

1975 Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay — the film with the biggest cult status — a formula which was repeated by countless filmmakersYash Chopra’s Deewar — a ground-breaking film in terms of heroine liberation (smoking, drinking), and violence

1976 Shyam Benegal’s Manthan — Indian submission to Oscars under Best Foreign Film. It won the National Award, and rediscovered the genre of socially relevant cinemaHrishikesh Mukherjee — films such as Anand (1971) and Abhimaan (1973) won over the audience’s heartsYash Chopra — Kabhie Kabhie (1976), Trishul (1978), and Kaala Patthar (1979) became super hitsSmita Patil emerged out as one of the leading actors of parallel cinema with her films such as Bhumika and later, Mirch Masala

1981 The Disco Dancer era of Bappi Lahiri and Mithun Chakraborty. Bappi Lahiri popularised disco music in films such as Disco Dancer (1982), Namak Halaal (1982), and Sharaabi (1984)Yash Chopra’s Silsila — one of most ‘talked-about’ films that had the famous Holi number Rang Barse ... It was one of the first films to use scenic localesMuzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan starring Rekha won critical acclaimGovind Nihalani’s Aakrosh won the Golden Peacock for the Best Film at the International Film Festival of India. His Ardh Satya also won critics’ praises

1982 Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth — brought in a new wave of films with emphasis on the heroine Bhanu Athaiya — first Indian to win an Oscar for costume direction of Richard Attenborrough’s film, Gandhi

1983 Bapu’s Wo Saat Din that saw Anil Kapoor for the first time in a lead role

1989 Yash Chopra’s Chandni — one of the most successful films of Indian cinema — noted for its music which started a new trend altogetherMani Ratnam, a South Indian filmmaker, introduced new techniques of cinematography, art direction and lighting

2006 Omkara, Rang De Basanti, Khosla Ka Ghosla changed the dynamics of Indian cinema, bringing in a fresh approach

2007 Aamir Khan’s directorial debut Taare Zameen Par struck a chord

2008 Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday packs in a punch in the face of all those who think it’s only the hero’s prerogative to do all the gallant stuffn Blurring of Lines between Mainstream and Alternative Cinema with films like Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D (2009), Peepli Live